Gas-engine ignition device.



No. MINNIE. Patented Ian. 2, |900. E. W. LEWIS.

GAS ENGINE IGNITION DEVICE.

(Application led June 21, 1899.)

QA f

INU. www. Patented Ian. 2, |900. w. LEWIS.

GS ENGINE IGNITION DEVICE.

(Application led June 21, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Smets-Sheet 2.

No. 640.392. Patented Ian. 2, |900.

' G. W. LEWIS.

GAS ENGINE IGNITION DEVICE.

(Application filed June 21, 1899.)

(Ilo Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 trib GEORGE IV. LEWIS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

@ASWENGINE iGNiTlOIhl DEWGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,392, dated January 2, 1900.

Original application tiled November 8, 1894. Renewed September Z2, 1898, Serial No. 691,629. Divided and thisI application filed June 21,1899, Serial No. 72l,3'75.` (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. LEWIs,of the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State oi Pennsylvania, formerly of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useiul Improvements in Gas-En gine Ignition Devices, (Case A5) and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip* tion thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this speeidcation.

This invention relates to improvements in gas or vapor engines, and has for its primary object to provide a practical, simple, and otherwise advantageous construction in the electrical connections through which the ignitingspark is produced in the power-cylinder, and also improvements by which a large or heavy engine may be easily and readily started.

In the drawings I have shown both vertical and horizontal gas-engines to which my inu vent-ion is applied, wherein- Figure l is a side elevation showing a vertical engine provided with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the engine shown in Fig. l in the axis ot the bearings for the crank-shaft, said crank-shaft and ily-wheels and pulley thereon being shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is an enlarged axial section of the power end of the cylinder in the same plane as the parts are shown in Fig. 2. Fig. -t is a horizontal section in the plane of line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a horizontal engine containing my improvements. Fig. G is an enlarged view of the cam, which is seen in side elevation in Fig. 5, and circuitcloser engaged by said cam.

The general construction and arrangement of the inlet and exhaust valves and the valvemechanism for controlling the same, as Well as the fuel-supplying devices, are like the construction shown and claimed in a companion application tiled simultaneously with this application, said companion application and the present application being divided from my prior application, Serial No. 691,629, renewed on September W 1898.

First describing the construction shown in Figs. l to i, inclusive, A represents the frame supporting the various parts of the engine.

B is a centrally-eranked power-shaft carrying a driving-pulley I3 and ily-wheels B2 B2.

C C are guides secured to the frame, in which slides a cross-head D.

E is a pitman connecting the cross-head with the crank B3 of the crank-shaft.

F is a cylinder, of which F is the power end and F2 the pump end. The power end of said cylinder is closed by a head j' and the pump end by a head f', the latter of which is provided with a stuffing-box through which extends the piston-rod f2, which connects the piston F3 with the cross-head D.

Gis a carburetor, and g is an air-inlet pipe having a straight portion which passes into the carburetor G.

G' is a supply-tank, and G2 a pump operated by a cam on the main shaft, which is connected with said supply-tank by a pipe g' and with the carburetor by apipe g2.

g3 designates an overflow-pipe leading from the carburetor back to the supply-tank.

I-l is a valve for admitting the explosive mixture into the cylinder, said valve, as heroin shown, opening directly from the carburetor into a valve chamber or chest H', which coinmunieates with the cylinder.

The cylinder F is connected with a chamber F4, external to and concentric with the lower portion of the cylinder, said chamber F'l being in communication with the lower end of the interior of the cylinder proper by one or more wide passages f3 and in communication with the valve-chamber l'l/ by one or more passages 72,. The chamber FL is also in communication with the power end of the cylinder when the piston is at or near the eXtreme end of its power-stroke through a port or ports f4. The piston Fis shown as being of trunk form orhollovv in order that the communicating spaces, consisting of the space below the piston and the outer space F4, may be as large as possible in proportion to the space behind the piston after the power-stroke has been completed within-the least practicable limits, the relative proportions of these spaces in the engine shown being about four to one. The piston F3 covers the passage f4, except when nected with a vertical arm z'.

the piston is at or near the end of its powerstroke, as shown in Fig. 3. Said piston is provided with a recess f5, as seen most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, which is arranged to come opposite the inlet port or ports f4 when the cylinder is at the end of its power-stroke, said recess having its rear wall f6 abrupt, so as to deiiect the incoming mixture of gas and air to the power-head of the cylinder. The exhaust-ports f7 of the cylinder are arranged at right angles to the inlet-ports f4, as shown in Fig. 4., this construction preventing the escape of the explosive mixture which enters through the inlet-ports, as more clearly set forth in said companion application.

The supply-valve I-I is operable at each rotation of the crank-shaft and is adapted to be controlled as to the length of its opening stroke, and therefore as to the amount of mixture supplied through the same, by any suitable form of governor or controlling mechanism. As herein shown, a governing device like that described and claimed in my said prior application, Serial No. 691,629, is applied to control said valve. Said governing device consists of a wedge-shaped gage I, con- Said arm is pivoted at t" near its lower end and is connected at its lower end with a collar I' on the main shaft. Between this collar I and the hub of the fly-wheel B2 is inserted a second collar I2, having one of its edges inclined, as shown at 123, in conformity to the contiguous end of the wheel-hub, and with this interposed bevel or inclined edged collar I2 is connected the lever J of a familiar form of centrifugal governor, as shown in Fig. 2. The stem 7b2 of the valve H extends through the wall of the valve-chest and is provided below the gage I with an adjustable nut 71', which strikes the lower edge of the gage when the valve is raised. With this construction when the gage is thrown outwardly through the operation of the centrifugal governor it acts to limit the opening of the valve, and therefore the amount of explosive mixture supplied to the engine.

Referring now to the construction and arrangement of the electric mechanism for producing the spark in the power end of the cylinder, and which constitutes the present invention, said parts are made as follows:

K is a disk fixed to the crank-shaft, which disk has a short laterally-projecting contact or cam 7c upon one of its sides.

7c 7cfz are contact-pieces, of which the former bears continuously against the plane side of the disk K and the latter, 7a2, is in position to be struck by the projection 7i; on the opposite side of the disk at each rotation of the crankshaft.

795 is an electrode which projects through a mass of insulating material 7c3 contained within a tube 7a4, which latter is inserted into the head which closes the power end of the cylinder, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3.

K is a lever within the power end of the cylinder, which is pivoted between its ends and adapted to vibrate toward and from the adjacent head of the cylinder, the long arm being arranged to strike the inner end of the electrode 7c5 and being normally held in contact with said electrode by means of a spring k6. The piston is provided with a stud 757, arranged to strike the small arm of the lever K' as the piston approaches the end of its compression-stroke. The contact-piece 7a is connected with the upper end of the cylinderas, for example, at 7t8-and the contact-piece 7c2 is connected with the outer end of the electrode 765.

In the circuit is included a battery L or other source of supply of electricity.

The arrangement of the contact 7c on the disk K with reference to the stroke of the piston is shown to be and desirably is such that the circuit is closed at the time the stud 707 on the piston strikes the lever K', whereupon the circuit is opened between the long arm of the lever and the electrode 7t5 to produce a spark at such break in the circuit just before the piston has completed its compression-stroke. The contact 7c is circumferentially short and leaves the contact-piece 7c2 before the lever K again strikes the electrode 705, so that for a brief time the circuit is broken at two points, and the closure of the circuit by resumed contact of the lever K with the electrode 705 is not followed by the production of a spark between the contact projection 7a and the con tact-piece 702 by reason of the distance attained between these two contact elements when the circuit shall have been closed within the cylinder.

-When it is desired to start the engine, gas may be pumped into the power end of the cylinder either by a suitable pumping device or by rotation of the main crank-shaft of the engine when the size of the engine is so small as to permit. For use in connection with the larger sizes of engines I have provided an additional improvement, which will be described in connection with Figs. 5 and 6 and which shows the engine in horizontal form, although such mechanism maybe used on the vertical type of engine.

M represents a pin which passes freely through the head fof the power end of the cylinder and is provided at its inner end with an enlargement fitted to a countersink in the inner surface of head f and serving as a valve to close the space around the freely-movable pin, the valve being normally held to its seat by means of a spring m, arranged externally to the cylinder-head, about the pin, and between the cylinder-head and a knob on the outer end of the pin. This pin M is adapted to be pushed inward against the long arm of the lever, so that the operator may by this means break the circuit and produce a spark by hand. This device will be employed mainly in connection with engines of the larger sizes, which will usually be provided with the charging-pump.

N represents a plug tted to an opening ar- IOO IIO

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ranged opposite to the sparking devices in the power end of the cylinder, by which from time to time these parts may be inspected without removal ot' the cylinder-head.

0 is a valved oil-drip pipe leading `from the lower end of the cylinder F.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown my improved sparking mechanism connected with a hori- Zent-al type of engine. It will be understood that the construction of the cylinder and generally of the hidden parts shown in Figs. 5 and G corresponds with the same parts of the previouslydeseribed figures. In said tigures, K designates the same disk on the crankshaft shown in the previously-described iigures, and the short circuit-closing projection on said disk. In this improvement I have shown a movable electrode for giving a closed circuit when the crank-shaft is brought to a position past the dead-center by hand to enable the engine to be started by an explosion produced by breaking the circuit within the cylinder by hand and by inward thrust of the pin lll, already described. In a preferred form of the movable contact piece shown, P represents a bifurcated piece for contact with the projection 7c, said bifurcated or forked electrode having two arms pp and being adapted to oseillate as a whole in the axis of the arm or `fork P. P is a rod in which the shank p2 of the contact-piece P, arranged in aline with the fork p, is insulated, as most clearly seen in Iiig. 6. Said rod P is mounted in fixed bearings, within which it may rock, and is provided with a laterallyprojecting lever arm or handle P2 at its end remote from the fork. P3 is a tixed stud containing two notches, into either of which a lateh-springps, attached to the lever-arm P2, may catch to hold the oscillating rod P in either ot the positions to which it may be rocked. The axial fork p of the contactpiece P corresponds with the contact-piece 7a2 in the construction shown in the preceding figures. rlhe object of the oft'setl`ork armp is to elfeet the closure of the sparking-circuit when the crank-shaft is oit a dead-center in the direction it is to revolve, so that in a heavy engine a movement of the tly-wheel by hand to bring the crankshaft thus a little beyond the dead-center may enable the engine to be started or initially put in motion by a sparleproduced explosion. Preparatory to this explosion the contact-piece is rotated into the position shown in Fig. 5 and desirably locked by the catch p3 or other suitable device. The flywheel is then turned forwardly to bring the projection 7c in contact with the offset fork-arm p', and with the parts in these positions explosive mixture is pumped into the cylinder by any suitable pumping device, after which the pin M is pushed inwardly by hand to break the circuit at the electrode h5 within the cylinder and there produce the spark required. The crank-shaft being oit and past the dead-center, as stated, the explosion which results from the spark thus produced sets the engine in motion. As soon as the engine has been put in motion the forked contact-piece P is rotated to bring the offset fork p out of the path of the projection la, leaving the fork p only in the path of said projection, and thereafter the action is that described in connection with the preceding igures of the drawings. The last mentioned position of the electrode is clearly illustrated in Fig. 6.

It will be understood that any suitable governing device-as, for instance, such as illustrated in my said prior application, Serial No. 691,629-n1ay be employed with this type of engine.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a gas-engine having an electrical sparking device or devices, a movable contact-piece adapted to be moved 'into position for completing the circuit through a moving contact when the crank of the engine-shaft is past the dead-center, and to be retracted from said position after the engine has been started, in combination with means for breaking the circuit within the cylinder by hand.

2. In a gas-engine having an electrical sparking device or devices, a bifurcated contact-piece one arm of which is adapted to be temporarily moved into position for completing the circuit through a revolving contact when the crank is past the dead-center, in combination with means for breaking the circuit within the cylinder by hand.

3. In a gas -en gine having an electrical sparking device or devices, a bifurcated contact-piece one arm of which is adapted to be temporarily moved into position for completing the circuit through a revolving contact when the crank-arm is past the dead-center, the other arm of the bifurcated electrode being permanently in position to give electrical contact when the crank-arm is approaching the dead-center in the direction of its operative revolutions, in combination with means for breaking the circuit within the cylinder by hand.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix 1n ysignaturc, in presence of two witnesses, this lst day of June, A. D. 1899.

GEORGE IV. LEWIS.

lWitnesses:

li. F. RLiAnDoN, F. E. Bncaroino.

IOC) 

